Nectarine and saffron custard tart

Nectarine and saffron custard tart

A dreamy vegan custard tart, scented with saffron and vanilla, topped with perfect summer nectarines, honey and thyme.

5 from 3 votes

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Course: Dessert, Sweet treats

Cuisine: New Zealand, Vegan

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 10

Chilling Time: 2 20

Total Time: 3

Servings: 8

Calories: 409kcal

Author: Quite Good Food

Ingredients

For the pastry case:

250 g standard flour, (0.55 lb)
75 g solid coconut oil, chilled (2.65 oz)
30 g icing sugar, (1 oz)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoon ice cold water

For the saffron custard filling:

Generous pinch saffron threads
1 cup almond milk
1 ¼ cup full fat coconut cream, divided
3 tablespoon honey, or substitute ¼ cup brown rice or agave syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla paste, or natural vanilla extract
2 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoon cornflour, (cornstarch)

To serve:

2-3 nectarines, thinly sliced and removed from stone
2-3 teaspoon honey, melted if solid, or substitute brown rice or agave syrup
Fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

To make the pastry case, preheat oven to 200C (390F). Pulse the flour, coconut oil, icing sugar, lemon zest and salt together in a food processor until it has a crumbly texture. Add ice cold water a little at a time until the mixture starts to come together. I find 5 tablespoon to be the right amount, but this may vary a little.
Tip the pastry mixture out onto a benchtop and use your hands to bring the mixture together in a ball, without kneading. Flour the surface and roll out to about 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Line the bottom of a 22cm (8-9 inch) springform tart tin. Gently press pastry into the tart tin and trim the edges. Refrigerate for 20 minutes until firm. Line the pastry case with baking paper and blind baking weights. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the weights and baking paper and bake for another 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
To make the saffron custard filling, start by placing the saffron into a small dish with a wee splash of boiling water (about 1 tbsp). Set aside for 5-10 minutes to allow the saffron to bloom. Put the almond milk, 1 cup of coconut cream, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, saffron threads and water into a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the mixture just begins to simmer. Stir cornflour into ¼ cup of coconut cream to form a slurry, then slowly whisk into the hot milk mixture. Continue to stir over medium heat for about five minutes, or until the custard thickens. Pour the custard into the pastry case then refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until the custard is set.
To serve, top the custard tart with thinly sliced nectarines, drizzle with melted honey and sprinkle with a few fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

Nutrition information is estimate, based on 8 servings.
Recipe first published in the Summer 2020 issue of Nourish magazine.

Nutrition information

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